The present invention relates generally to vehicle control switches for use in motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a switch guard useable with such switches. The switch guard is retrofittable with vehicle control switches of various types—including rocker switches, push-button switches and toggle switches—and can be selectively added thereto to prevent accidental actuation of such switches.
In specialty vehicle markets—such as heavy trucks, agricultural equipment, and construction equipment, for example—electrical switches are used as control switches for a variety of applications, including switching the motor vehicle lighting, the windshield wipers, the rear windshield heating, the cruise control functions, the internal central locking and other functions on and off. A number of such vehicle control switches can be combined as control panels in the vehicle dashboard, in the center console, or the like. Often the vehicle control switches are in the form of rocker switches that may be pushed by an operator to rotate/tilt from a neutral position (i.e., switched-off state) to one or more activated positions (i.e., a switched-on state) that control operation of an associated vehicle system/component. Pushbutton switches and toggle switches are also switches oftentimes employed as vehicle control switches.
It is recognized that, due to their design and manner in which they are actuated, it is possible for rocker-type, pushbutton, and toggle vehicle control switches to be moved by an operator in an accidental fashion. In order to prevent such accidental actuation of these switches, various mechanisms or controls have previously been employed with respect to activation of such switches. As one example, critical and safety related control switches may often include some sort of redundancy feature in which two separate actions are required by an operator to actuate the switch, so as to prevent accidental actuation of the switch. As another example, a switch guard may be positioned about a rocker switch to prevent accidental actuation thereof.
With respect to existing switch guards that are implemented to prevent accidental actuation of a switch, such switch guards are constructed as a plastic guard that uses plastic snap-fit fingers to attach it to the switch housing. As such, these switch guards require the guard material to be flexible enough to allow it to snap in place. While this flexibility of the switch guard enables it to be snapped/secured to the switch housing in an easy fashion, the switch guard does not provide the rigidity that is desired in order for the switch guard to adequately prevent accidental actuation of the switch and/or a desired durability that prevents the switch guard from breaking
Another drawback of existing switch guards is that these guards typically come pre-installed on their associated switches. For multi-switch modules that include a number of switches therein in a common housing (i.e., three or more switches in one housing)—such as is typical with rocker switches—this means that each switch in the module will include a switch guard thereon. However, it is recognized that only certain rocker switches in the switch module may require a switch guard—such as critical and safety related switches—and that the inclusion of switch guards on the other rocker switches may be deemed undesirable/unnecessary by a customer.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a switch guard for a vehicle control switch that is easily attachable while still providing protection against accidental actuation of the switch. It would further be desirable for such a switch guard to be retrofittable to an existing unguarded multi-switch module, so as to enable a customer to add the switch guards where needed on the multi-switch module so as to provide any one of a number of combinations of guarded and unguarded switches in the module.